Alive
by evidently-emily
Summary: A "Once Dead, Twice Shy" one shot -- He let out a throaty chuckle, and an unexplainable wave of satisfaction took over my body. Why did I care what he thought? He was just... Barnabas. Still...had he always been this...attractive? --BarnabasxMadison


**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything but this story. The original plot idea goes to Kim Harrison, as well as to her book, "Once Dead, Twice Shy" for which this fanfiction was derived from.

**Author's Note: **Hey everybody! This is a little one shot I wrote after reading this book, as mentioned above, and it follows two of the characters, Barnabas and Madison.

**Dedication: **You two. Because I know you're better than that.

**Currently listening to: **Kids - MGMT

* * *

You don't know the true meaning of boredom till you're dead.

Laying in my twin bed, staring up at the glow in the dark star decals plastered to my ceiling, a long unnecessary breath parting my lips. I had exhausted every other option to amuse myself; with Barnabas out running errands, no doubt the only time I had to myself throughout our entire "relationship", I was finding myself growing more unamused by the moment. My computer made far too much noise to be booted up right now, and I knew that my Dad would wake up with a startle. Besides, what did I have to do? When you're dead, you don't care about going online to update your Facebook status or harvest your crops on Farmville.

I flopped over onto my stomach, a curtain of my purple tinted hair falling into my eyes. I picked at the fraying edges of my comforter, feeling slightly nostalgic for a good night's sleep. I could never recreate that feeling - waking up on a Sunday morning with the warm sunlight dancing on your closed eyelids, the smell of warm waffles and fresh orange juice wafting into your nose. No...what did I have to look forward to every night? An endless stream of Girls Gone Wild advertisements and Jay Leno-esque talk shows on television with Barnabas till it was time for me to creep into my bed to pose as if I had been sleeping there the entire night.

A loud thump hit my window, and I jumped on the bed, slowly turning myself around to face the large bay window. I sunk my bare feet into the soft, fuzzy purple rug on my floor, inching towards the window. What the hell? I had just reached the window when Barnabas' face appeared, a little out of breath. His curly hair was matted to his face, though he still looked as handsome as ever. So unfair.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I hissed, cracking open my window so he could slip in. He was wet from the light rainstorm we had earlier that evening. The rain suited him; rather than giving him a disheveled, homeless appearance, instead he actually looked well...sexy. I glared inwardly at myself for even thinking such things. Shut up, shut up, shut up...I'm not supposed to think an angel, let alone my guardian, as sexy. That had to be some sort of blasphemy, if not the worst.

I crossed my arms over my chest, giving him the best glare I could conjure up. "In case you forgot, you're not Edward Cullen," I knew the jab at the asinine fan girly book series would get back at him for almost getting my ass in some serious trouble with my Dad. I don't even want to know what he'd think - getting on his robe, coming into my room, only to find me still wearing my jeans and sweatshirt from the day, and a wet, hot teenage boy in my room. Sure...Barnabas may be older than my dad by a few eons or so, but that was something even I wasn't too comfortable with. "Therefore," I continued, shaking myself out of my own thoughts. "You know how to use a front door. So, care to explain your rather unimpressive entrance?"

He shook out his curls, running his long fingers through the wild mane. I found myself entranced with his actions, and before I could reveal myself, I leaned against my desk, raising my eyebrows at him. "I got chased by a dog," He admitted, his voice so low I almost couldn't make out his words. "Shut up, I know why you're making that face. But it was a big dog, huge!"

Instinctively I clapped my hand to my mouth, a stream of loud giggles escaping my mouth. "A dog? You, big mighty Barnabas who's supposed to be protecting me from a dark angel...is afraid of a dog?" I released my hand to let out a howl of laughter, and only regaining my composure when I heard my Dad let out a loud, guttural snore from his bed across the hall.

"Okay, well you're here now. And you're fine," I stifled a laugh at the image of Barnabas being chased by a german shepherd on his way back to my house. "It's too stuffy in here. Let's go out and do something..." I stopped for a moment, my mouth turning into a smirk as I made my final comment - or at least, out loud - about the situation he had been in. "Preferably somewhere sans canines."

"Heh heh, very funny," He jabbed back, but I could see the amusement in his voice. I suppose that although Barnabas didn't care to show it to me too often, he really did care about me, and it was a breath of fresh air to be around me, rather than one of the thousand year old angels that he usually had to keep company. "Let's go on the roof."

I shrugged, shoving my hands into the back pockets of my vintage-found jeans. "Lead the way, wing boy," I glowed at my own silly humor, watching as Barnabas steadied himself on the window sill, sprouting his glorious white wings to hover in the air. He held out his hand, heaving both himself and me onto the roof, allowing us both to balance.

"It sure is an inconvenience keeping court with a human," he joked, settling next to me and crossing one long leg over the other. His eyes turned skyward, scanning the night sky. It had to be nearing two o'clock in the morning - the full moon high in the midnight black sky, thousands of sparkling diamond-esque stars curled together, glowing brighter and bigger than their brother. "So, want to go first?"

I sighed, knowing that Barnabas was referring to our "game" that we had begun playing the first time we made a patronage to the roof. Barnabas was a star lover, and knew literally every single constellation in the sky, it's origin, it's peek viewing times, and what it resembled. I, on the other hand, didn't know anything than what I had learned in Greek mythology class in sixth grade, science class last year or what I vaguely remembered from "Hercules."

"Let me see your hand," Barnabas requested, startling me from my thoughts. Curiously, I handed him one of my thin wrists, watching as he held our intertwined hands up to the sky. "You see, that's Orion's belt," he traced the major points of the constellation with one of my chipped nails. "Remember the story?"

I nodded as best as I could, my heart racing. Why was I feeling like this? So many nights had passed where Barnabas and I sat on the roof, just talking and enjoying each other's company. What was different about tonight? I closed my eyes, listening to the hummingbird beat of my fluttering heart. Barnabas used to tease me about my "human" reactions; the beating of my heart, the light crimson blush to my cheeks, the way I bit my lip when I was digesting what people were saying to me.

"Sorry," I pulled away, not wanting to tamper with anything. We had a fine system for us right now...teacher and student, friends even...but the chemistry lately that we were having? I didn't want to test the waters. "Um, go on with your story. I'll listen."

He frowned for a moment, shrugging off his leather jacket. "You're shivering," he spoke as he draped his jacket over my bare shoulders. I hadn't even realized that my teeth were chattering somewhat violently till he pointed it out. "You've got to be the only dead person who gets cold." He joked with a smile, surprising me by leaning over to brush some hair out of my eyes.

I looked down at my Converse enveloped feet for a moment, clearing my throat before returning my gaze to his. I had a question I had been dying to ask him for some time...and I figured I might as well tonight.

"Barnabas...have you ever been kissed?" I cleared my throat as soon as I spoke, that all too human blush covering my normally pale face.

He looked up quickly, his neck snapping up to look at me with wide, confused eyes. He was curious though, and I could see a glint of amusement behind those emotionless eyes. "Maybe..." he added a long wink, stretching out his legs. "What's it to you?"

I immediately tensed up, not realizing this is how he might take it. Of course he'd think that I was coming onto him -- me, Madison, with purple hair and dirty tennis shoes putting a move on one of God's good angels? Ha, that was a pretty laughable thought. Still, my stubborn side wouldn't allow me to show any hint of embarrassment, and I settled my gaze into a frown.

"Oh, because I was totally planning on raping you tonight," I tensed, rolling my eyes. "And wanted to know if it was going to be worth my time before I was banished from the after life for good."

He let out a throaty chuckle, and an unexplainable wave of satisfaction took over my body. Why did I care what he thought? He was just... Barnabas. Still, I swallowed.

I pulled his jacket tighter around me, his sweet smell was so refreshingly familiar I wanted to bask in it. He moved closer to me, looking me in the eyes, curiously. "You want to kiss me?" he asked, seeing past all of the lies and the humiliating things I had said in the last three minutes.

I was shocked; I hadn't really even thought that I wanted to kiss him, but now that he had said something...yes, I suppose I did want to kiss him. Who knew that this love/hate relationship we had been posing to have, was actually a case of lust and unrequited love? I leaned forward, giving him a gentle kiss on his chin. His face was slightly scruffy...I didn't feel like I was kissing someone old enough to be the third member of the Adam and Eve party, but rather...a regular guy.

A really handsome, regular guy. Who just so happened to be an angel.

And old enough to see the first fire created.

His muscled arms snaked around my body, pulling me close to him. I melted against his touch, reaching my finger tips out to press into his cheeks. I leaned forward, the kiss progressing until I couldn't tell where my lips started and his ended.

In that moment...I don't think any half-dead teenager ever felt so alive.

I know I sure did.


End file.
